Por James Grainger

Thursday 12 April, 2018

Por Jayson McNamara

Thursday 12 April, 2018

Por Jayson McNamara

In just the first 15 days of this year, there were 13 femicides registered in Argentina, a new study by Ni Una Menos, the women’s rights watchdog, has found.

The non-profit publicised statistics showing that 298 femicides occurred in 2017 – one death every 29 hours – and that the data from the first 15 days of January 2018 had averaged out to one woman dying every 28 hours.

Calling for action, Raquel Vivanco, president of Ni Una Menos, railed against the government ‘red tape’ on women’s rights.

“The terrible statistics of femicides, which have not decreased, illustrate the lack of political priority assigned by Mauricio Macri’s government to end violence against women in our country, making itself all the more evident with the lack of a budgetary item specifically [addressing the issue] for 2018.”

Vivanco added that “18 percent of the female victims murdered during the past year had previous reports [of violence from]their aggressors and 12 percent of said women had protective measures put in place by the justice system, which speaks to the apathy of the state as a whole, all of those deaths could have been avoided.”

The national coordinator of MuMaLá denounced that “the implementation of Law 26.485 - of prevention, sanction, and eradication of the violence against women, in place since 2009 - continues without it’s application being guaranteed”

The free judicial sponsorship dedicated for women who are victims that anticipated the aforementioned law only offers itself in two cities of the country and no campaigns to raise public awareness have been brought forth, she explained to Diario Popular.

In that sense, she maintained that “the 144 hotline doesn’t efficiently address reports despite the great demand that’s present. These are only some of the defaults of the State before international human rights organisations and primarily before the women who have their lives taken by machista violence on a daily basis in Argentina.”

The report by the organisation summed data that came from the 2017 National Register of Femicides, arguing that 90 percent of femicides were committed by men who were close, intimate friends with the women, and only four percent were committed by strangers, with the remaining six percent of cases having no data.

Women ages 21 to 40 made up 44 percent of the registered femicides. Additionally, 30 percent were adolescent victims between 15 and 25 years old.

52 percent of women the women murdered in 2017 were mothers, 47 percent lived with their aggressor, eight percent had been raped, and six percent were pregnant. The report also added that 13 percent of victims were abused and assaulted, while 28 percent were reported missing.

Another relevant statistic that Ni Una Menos offered is that 65 percent of femicides were committed in the home of the victim. In that vein, 25 percent were committed in public and only three percent in the home of the aggressor. To round out the statistic, three percent happened in a family member’s home and four percent in various places (abandoned homes, victim’s workplace, or a by-the-hour hotel, or tell).

With respect to the method of these crimes, 28 percent of these victims were killed with a knife, 27 percent with a firearm, 19 percent from asphyxiation, 16 percent were beat to death, four percent died from being burned, four percent varied from being run over, poisoned, pushed from a balcony, and more, while two percent have no data.

To conclude the study, the nonprofit reported that as a result of this violence, there were 312 child orphans. Meanwhile, 13 percent of male aggressors committed suicide.

If you are a victim of gender-based violence contact 144, a free hotline that works across the country, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.